CSULB Among Top 10 Colleges Receiving Applications from First-Time Freshmen

In a recent article published by U.S. News & World Report, Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) has been recognized as one of the top 10 colleges in the nation receiving the most applications from first-time freshmen out of 1,800 schools that reported application data in the publication’s annual survey.

Using data from fall 2011 admission, CSULB ranked No. 5 in the nation with 49,767 first-time freshmen applications. Additionally, the Long Beach campus was the only regional university in the top 10. The other nine were all national universities, including No. 1 UCLA (61,564 applications), No. 2 UC San Diego (53,448), No. 3 St. John’s University (52,972), and No. 4 UC Berkeley (52,966).

“Ranking fifth in the nation in freshmen applications clearly demonstrates that students and their parents place great value in a Cal State Long Beach education,” said CSULB President F. King Alexander, who noted the campus would be ranked even higher if the number of first-time freshmen applications for fall 2013 admissions (56,213) was used.

“The large number of applications we receive from first-time freshmen each year is a direct result of the campus’ outreach efforts, its outstanding academic offerings, and the student services we provide,” he added. “It is also another positive outcome of having so many faculty and staff dedicated to student success.”

The article was published as part of U.S. News’ “Short List,” a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas.

According to the story, more than 8.2 million applications were sent to U.S. colleges by prospective freshmen vying to enroll in fall 2011, many of which went to California institutions. In fact, of the 10 schools that received the most freshmen applications that year, seven are located in California.

U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2012 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported a myriad of data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind.